2 easy recipes...

After a 4 month break from brewing (work has been terrible!), I'm finally gonna brew again this weekend. (I'll also get my new iPad right in the middle of brewing to make it an absolutely perfect day. If I can drink a lot of beer and have sex, I might be ready to die ).

It's been a while, so I'm going with easy, all-extract batches. I wanted to see what people thought.

1st Batch - Belgian Dark Strong Ale

Fermentables:
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3.3 lbs BrewFerm Grand Cru pre-Hopped Liquid Malt Extract
6.0 lbs Munton's Light DME
0.5 lbs Belgian Dark Candy Sugar

Yeast:
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1 vial White Labs WPL500 (trappist) liquid yeast
1 packet US-05 (clean, no flavor addition, but higher attenuation)

So, I've heard that Grand Cru's (which is only kind of what I'm trying to do) always have honey in them. Who thinks I should add some? How much? Also, the LME is pre-hopped, but I'm not sure what the stats are. Last year, I did this batch with 2 oz. of Spalt at 10 minutes. I'm thinking about going for an even less hopped beer and not adding hops other than what's in the LME. Thoughts?

2nd Batch - Light, crisp American IPA

Fermentables:
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3 lbs. Munton's Light DME
3 lbs. Munton's Amber DME

Yeast:
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1 packet US-05

Hops:
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1.0 oz. Magnum (~12%AA) for 60 mins.
0.5 oz. Cascade (~7%AA) for 15 mins.
0.5 oz. Cascade (~7%AA) for 10 mins.
0.5 oz. Cascade (~7%AA) for 5 mins.
0.5 oz. Cascade (~7%AA) @ flameout.

This is supposed to be a nice, simple, basic IPA recipe. I want a good amount of flavor (thus the 2 oz. Cascade), but not a "rip-your-tongue-off" IPA. Something crisp and clean, but with good hop flavor.

I'd love some feedback. I have 2 days to make changes to the recipe, however, all ingredients listed above are already purchased, so I'm really more interested in additions than subtractions.

Thanks!!!

bump. bump.

I wouldn't pitch the S-05 with the belgian yeast personally, WLP500 can really dry it out if you can get the heat up to around 75 after a few days of fermentation and let it do its own things. You can add some honey in there too, it will help dry it out even more.

Without running the numbers (gravity and IBU) your IPA looks good, but certainly on the low side for hop aroma/flavor which is what you are going for I think. If you are interested at all in steeping grains I would think about steeping a little crystal20 or 40 in this beer for nice color & flavor.

Look like a nice chilled out brew day, and hello from the northwest side of town!!

Your yeast advice is contrary to my LHBS owner. This time, I'm gonna go with him, since "proper" pitching rates are supposed to be like triple what you get in a White Labs vial. Plus, US-05 is a clean yeast, so I'll still only get yeast-induced flavor from the Trappist.

Yeah, the IPA's numbers come out to around 5.5-6% ABV and in the 40's for IBU. I'm curious, though, with adding 2 oz. of Cascade in the last 15 minutes, how is that the low side for aroma/flavor? My target is actually to have a less prominent hop backbone while retaining the majority of the flavor/aroma.

Lastly, I'm an all-grain brewer when I want to be. It's been 4 months since I've brewed due to time constraints. This brew day is set up to be as simple as possible, so it's an all-extract day. I know steeping might help a little, but in this case, that misses the target I want.

Thanks!

I'd add some bittering hops to the Grand Cru, even if it's just a half ounce or so. I don't think there will be enough bitterness in the prehopped can to balance out all the extra fermentables you are adding, especially if you add honey.

Let us know how using 2 different types of yeasts works for you. I've never tried it but from all that I've read when you use 2 different kinds one dominates, and the other just kind of sits back and hangs out. My guess is the US05 will do this and you'll get very little character from the Trappist yeast. But you won't know until you try, so give it a shot......either way you'll have beer!!!

Looks okay to me. Have a good day and enjoy some homebrew.

MBM30075 said:

Your yeast advice is contrary to my LHBS owner. This time, I'm gonna go with him, since "proper" pitching rates are supposed to be like triple what you get in a White Labs vial. Plus, US-05 is a clean yeast, so I'll still only get yeast-induced flavor from the Trappist.

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I was assuming you would make a starter, sorry! True, but you'll only get a minimal amount of belgian yeast character since there is almost 2x the amount yeast cells in a packet of S-05 and it will quickly ferment out since it almost works much more quickly. You could always just buy a few more tubes if you hate making starters... again, just my $0.02 and I'm sure it'll make a fine beer either way.

I know people will sometimes use two yeasts to create a complex flavor profile, but they normally pitch one yeast initially (the one that attenuates the least) then either add the second yeast when there are some fermentables left, or add it along with some additional fermentables.

Keep us updated on the iPad also.

MBM30075 said:

...If I can drink a lot of beer and have sex, I might be ready to die ).

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Yeah, I think there's an app for that! :cross: